These early snapshots demonstrate Hubble's return to full science operations, following correction of a computer anomaly aboard the spacecraft. Normal science observations were restarted on July 17, at 1:18 pm EDT. Among the early targets are globular star clusters in other galaxies and aurorae on the giant planet Jupiter, in addition to a look at bizarre galaxies.
These two peculiar galaxies are part of a program led by Julianne Dalcanton of the University of Washington in Seattle, to survey oddball galaxies scattered across the sky.
[Left-panel] — ARP-MADORE2115-273 is a rare example of an interacting galaxy pair in the southern hemisphere. These Hubble observations provide Hubble's first high-resolution glimpse at this intriguing system, which is located 297 million light-years away. Astronomers had previously thought this was a "collisional ring" system due to the head-on merger of two galaxies. The new Hubble observations show that the ongoing interaction between the galaxies is far more complex, leaving behind a rich network of stars and dusty gas.
[Right-panel] — ARP-MADORE0002-503 is a large spiral galaxy with unusual, extended spiral arms, at a distance of 490 million light-years. Its arms extend out to a radius of 163,000 light-years, making it three times more expansive than our Milky Way Galaxy. While most disk galaxies have an even number of spiral arms, this one has three.
"I'll confess to having had a few nervous moments during Hubble's shutdown, but I also had faith in NASA's amazing engineers and technicians. Everyone is incredibly grateful, and we're excited to get back to science!" said Dalcanton.
Credits
Science
NASA, ESA, STScI, Julianne Dalcanton (UWashington)
Image Processing
Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | AM2115-273 and AM0002-503 |
| Object Description | Interacting and Spiral Galaxies |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HST observations include those from program (J. Dalcanton) |
| Instrument | ACS/WFC |
| Exposure Dates | 17 July 2021 |
| Filters | F606W |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
Download
- Main Full Res, 3200 X 1600, TIF (14.67 MB)
- Main Full Res, 3200 X 1600, PNG (4.57 MB)
- Main Medium, 2000 X 1000, PNG (1.89 MB)
- AM2115-273 Full Res, 1683 X 1673, TIF (5.39 MB)
- AM2115-273 Full Res, 1683 X 1673, PNG (4.53 MB)
- AM0002-503 Full Res, 2255 X 2255, TIF (29.12 MB)
- AM0002-503 Full Res, 2255 X 2255, PNG (22.53 MB)
- AM0002-503 Medium, 2000 X 2000, PNG (18.33 MB)
